We Can Be Heroes

I have been a fan of comics and superheroes for some time. I loved the stories. I loved the challenges. I loved the costumes.

I wanted to be a superhero. I remember vividly stuffing my shirt sleeves with hand towels to make muscles. Then I would grab a bath towel (burgundy because we didn’t have red) and tuck the top of it in the back of my neck – transforming the cotton swath of material into a cape. And me into a superhero.

I also remember spending a lot of time trying to pull a collection of curls from my mini Afro into that iconic S curl that Christopher Reeve had when he played my favorite superhero.

But my hair was different. It didn’t work. I played Superman anyways, but did I notice? Yep.

I definitely didn’t look like Christopher Reeve. Or Lou Ferrigno. Or Peter Parker. Or the guy that played the Greatest American Hero. Or the Six Million Dollar Man.

I didn’t know about Black Panther then. Or Luke Cage.

This doesn’t mean my life was devoid of heroes that looked like me. I was told stories of relatives, history makers, and family friends who were heroes of mine. But the fictional characters didn’t look like me. And while it didn’t stop me from liking them, I did notice it at a young age.

So imagine my smile, and joy, when my son asked to go see Miles Morales. In a movie theater. On a big screen.

We read the Miles Morales book together months ago. I remember when we both saw the trailer for the movie (I didn’t realize it was coming out) and we both may have squealed. And since that day he has been counting down for Winter Break not because of Christmas, but because Miles was coming.

We saw the movie the day it came out. We both loved it. He wants to see it again and I do too.

There’s a line in the movie that he loves: “Anyone can wear the mask!” And it is true.

And after a year of seeing King T’Challa, Falcon, War Machine, Suri, and Miles Morales, I’m glad to see my son seeing that it is true.

We can be heroes. And while ANYONE can wear the mask, it’s also nice to know that we don’t have to.